


Two Worlds Meet

by Anzieizna



Series: Short stories [4]
Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 07:39:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18912508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anzieizna/pseuds/Anzieizna
Summary: A cat on a fence meets a horse.





	Two Worlds Meet

Nadine watched the sun set before her, hues of blue being infected by a warm red. The air was thin and soft, blowing past her slowly and gently. Trees swayed behind her, but her eyes were trained on the seemingly-never ending field of wheat, glowing in the light of the fading sun.

The ragdoll kept still on the fence post, eyes sweeping from one plant to the other. The world had seemed so large to her as a kitten, and when she grew up, now with the ability to wander several lengths away from the farm, it proved even larger. Around every tree was a new animal. Behind every river was a new scent. It seemed to go on and on and on, forever.

A snort sounded behind the feline. Nadine jumped in her pelt, spinning around hackles raised and teeth bared only to stop short at the creature standing on the other side of the fence.

It had a long, thin face, large nostrils and eyes that seemed to bore into her flesh. Long strands of black fur fell across the face and a large neck that ran into a body far bigger than any human she had even seen. The animal’s pelt was a smooth brown, blended into a black by the mouth and nose, bearing a red tint from the sinking sun behind her.

Nadine’s eyes stretched wider than the moon itself. It smelled different, stranger than anything she had encountered before this moment. A mix of grass and wind was wrapped up in the scent, succeeding in drawing the feline’s curiosity further. What was this creature? Why hadn’t she seen it before? Was it another cat? No, it couldn’t be - cats were never that large. A human? A dog?

The animal stared at Nadine, silent and still. Neither of them spoke, the only sound being the swirl of wind and harmonic chirping of birds from far away.

Finally, Nadine gathered her courage. "What kind of creature are you?" asked the cat, perched elegantly on the post. "I've never seen a dog as big as you, but you do have grass on your breath ..."

"Hmpf," the animal let out a snort. Its ears twitched quickly and dark eyes ran up and down Nadine’s body. "Don't you have mice to be catching? I’m not a dog, I am a Horse. I have no time to be running around, chasing birds and causing a racket.”

Nadine blinked, taking in the voice of the creature. It sounded quite loud, rough syllables with a slightly high pitch.

Before she could stop herself, the cat spoke up once more. “So… what do you do?” The Horse raised an eyebrow. “You said you don’t run or hunt like dogs. So, what do you do?” The animal had long, thin legs and a muscled body that Nadine had trouble thinking of a use for.

The Horse answered before she could blurt anything out. “Humans mount me and ride me around. I trot and gallop and jump, canter between obstacles and graze around fields.”

What almost seemed like a smile on the creature’s strange face stretched when he saw Nadine’s blown away eyes. The cat was at the tip of her toes, ears perked and all attention on the Horse. Her claws were dug into the wood under her paws, curious energy overtaking her body.

“Woah! That must look so cool!” The she-cat yowled. “Does it hurt? When the humans mount you? Are they too heavy for you?”

Nadine tried to imagine a human riding her, even one of the kits, but they all seemed far too large for her. It must take a great deal of strength to jump whilst a human was on your back!

The Horse snorted as if what the cat just said was a bunch of gibberish. “Nothing is too heavy for a Horse! Especially for me,” he said. Nadine grinned and settled down as the animal continued. “Back in the early years, horses used to draw entire carriages with no help at all! They would trot all around towns and cities with barely any breaks, yet no Horse ever slowed down.”

Nadine cocked her head. “What’s a carriage?”

The Horse lifted a brow but explained anyway. “It was like a car, but it couldn’t move on its own. Horses had to pull them everywhere with our strength. And during the Second Terrible War, Horses were used to transport fighting humans and military weapons. Millions and millions of Horses died because of the war.”

The she-cat gasped, her ears flattening against her head. “Poor Horses…” The Horse nodded in agreement, closed his eyes, lowering his head for a moment. Nadine watched with caution, wondering what the creature was doing. It almost looked like they were asleep.

“What are you doing?”

The Horse huffed as they lifted his head once more. “Being respectful, you furball.”

“Respectful?” Nadine echoed. “It just looked like you took a nap in the middle of a story!”

He rolled his eyes. He paused for a second, then said, “Name some famous cats.”

The feline blinked at the sudden topic change. “What?”

“Name some famous cats. Cats you know about.”

“Uh… okay,” Nadine meowed, looking the Horse up and down with a twisted face. Either way, she was happy to talk about cats she knew so much about. As much as she loved learning about the new creature in front of her, she wanted to impress them with her own knowledge. “Well, let’s see, there’s Choupette Lagerfield, the most spoiled cat in the world; Tardar, the Grumpy Cat. Tommaso, the richest cat in the world; Tabby and Dixie, the first cats to step into the White House. Mayor Stubbs, uh, Faith and Panda-“

“I think that’s enough.” Nadine stopped short at the amused tone of the Horse, ducking her head and resorting to groom her chest as she felt her insides burn from embarrassments. “You respect all of those cats, right?”

Nadine jumped up. “Of course, I do!” Her tone was loud and bold, as though the Horse was challenging her on that.

“Well, I respect horses like Comanche and Bucephalus as much as you do. As I mentioned, millions of horses died in the Terrible Wars. We respect them by falling silent for a moment. Horses, do at least,” the animal added on as an afterthought.

“Hey!” Nadine exclaimed. “Cats respect the dead, too!” The tip of her tail twitched as she glared at the Horse through narrowed eyes, who only seemed to smirk with amusement.

A shuffle deeper into the greenery caught both of their attentions, and Nadine glanced past the Horse to see a copy almost identical to the creature standing before her. Thin legs, muscled body, searching eyes.

The second Horse glanced at Nadine quickly, then shuffled her attention onto the male horse. He turned back to Nadine, seemingly thinking for a few moments before he spoke. “You seem like a curious cat. Why don’t you come back tomorrow so I can teach you more about horse history?”

Nadine’s ears perked and she instantly sat up, claws extending into the surface below her. “I’d love that!”

With a nod, the Horse turned, but Nadine quickly called, “Wait! What’s your name?”

The Horse paused in his stride, glanced over his shoulder, and continued walking. Just as Nadine thought he wouldn’t respond he threw a word through the wind. “Berlioz.” 

Nadine grinned, watched as the female Horse seemed to almost tease Berloiz, and then the two disappeared into the forest. 

The she-cat turned back to the sun, finding that it was now almost completely submerged below the surface of the Earth, and smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> This story was based on a picture I saw of a cat and a horse "conversing" through a fence. Also, if the names didn't clue you in, this story takes place in France.


End file.
